Architect and multidisciplinary designer Chad Dorsey never lets a little thing like the weather get in the way of a gorgeous design. Even in his home city of Dallas, where temperatures rarely drop below 60 degrees—or a state like California, which has laws that strictly limit what can be burned, and when and how—he has long known that a fireplace, functional or not, provides the ultimate focal point. “You would not believe how many requests I get for purely decorative pieces,” he says. “Whether it’s in a shop for display purposes or an apartment as a place to cluster candles, people want that anchor in a room.”
Dorsey launched Strike, his bespoke fireplace brand, in 2020, after an asymmetrical surround he created to counterbalance a project’s preexisting, off-center firebox became a bit of a sensation in interior design circles. Now he has partnered with Ann Sacks, the ultimate purveyor of luxury tile, marble and more, for the company’s first collection of fireplaces: six exclusive styles, available in 14 sumptuous stones and three distinct finishes intended to enhance their coloration and character.
“Honed, the most common finish, is a smooth matte that brings out shine and veining, particularly in harder materials like marble,” says Dorsey. Light sandblasting achieves Antico’s slightly distressed effect—“like sandpaper.” And French Quarter, the most textural finish offered, uncovers intriguing pockets, veining and color variations in softer materials like limestone. “The tactile component is something I’ve been introducing in my projects,” he continues. “Each stone responds differently to each finish, but once people experience the softness of the distressed surface in person, they say, ‘I want that.’”
With Carrara white and Nero black bookending an array of nuanced neutrals like silvery Pewter and speckled Pepper, there’s a stone for every interior aesthetic. “Breccia Fiore, a beautiful white-and-pink marble, reveals these interesting cavities in the Antico or French Quarter finish that you’d never get otherwise—almost like the wear that results organically when water runs over rock,” the designer says.
Combining clean lines, expertly considered proportions and unique details, each fireplace in the curated collection has undeniable character and presence. “Everything is made-to-order within an inch, hand-carved from stone blocks to best highlight the veining and sized directly to specifications. Nothing is off the shelf,” says Dorsey. The styles are suitable as a framing device for all types of fireboxes—classic masonry, gas, “some people are even using an alcohol-type burner,” he says—and can be further accessorized by complementary Ann Sacks tile for a distinctive wallscape treatment. Whether or not they’re aglow, the collection’s six designs, which Dorsey discusses in detail below, are sure to make an architectural statement. “These are modern but classic looks that will stand the test of time,” he says.
ALESSIO
“In Alessio, inverted fluting creates scalloped columns defined by delicately sharp edges that run vertically down the length of the face. Honed, the effect is striking, sleek and elegant. In the French Quarter finish, sandblasting adds a textural appeal that’s both complex and almost primitive in the most compelling way.”
AUGUSTO
“Augusto takes the fluting trend one step further, to a significantly larger scale. The way the cylinders are extruded creates a three-dimensional cloverleaf motif at the corners, which I really like: It’s engaging and unexpected. We styled the design in Calaglio, a dramatic gray-blue marble with white veining, in a dining room—always an interesting location for a fireplace. It’s an addition I would suggest designers consider as they’re planning a project, because—in the right proportions—it brings so much ambiance to a space.”
BELLA
“Bella’s inverted egglike shape draws you in, like a portal to the art deco age. It feels very sleek, very substantial, recalling the glamour and decadence of the roaring twenties, but at the same time it’s quite intimate. Picture it in a contemporary bedroom, where the cocooning effect of the curves would be subtle and calming. Sable, a nuanced mushroom-gray stone with suggestive hints of rose-pink veining, really lends itself to the silhouette and the mood.”
ENZO
“I don’t like when a fireplace is too tall. It needs to feel approachable, not overpowering. Enzo strikes the perfect balance. Taking its cues from a classic door casing—or a custom-cut suit—its tailored lines make a formal statement on their own, and the piece also could be accentuated with a surround of complementary tile or even an extension of the same stone. It’s a straightforward design that offers a lot of different options.”
GEMMA
“Gemma is inspired by a 19th century farmhouse I saw in Tuscany built from these louvered terra cotta blocks that allowed the air to pass through. It’s designed with a series of little squares of stone that sit on a ledge, facing left or right toward the center of the hearth. Could be all one stone, like travertine; could be customized with up to seven different stones on a single fireplace for a calico treatment. You could style an entire textural wall that way, floor to ceiling. Gemma would be an excellent choice for an exterior fireplace and surrounding wall application too. It’s incredibly diverse, simultaneously rustic and modern, inside or out.”
STELLA
“Strolling through Siena, Italy, I came across an arched doorway topped by a classical capital: That’s the inspiration for Stella. It’s dramatically curved like Bella, but instead of a smooth surface, it has a more ornate face. Fluting radiates from the center, bordered by a decorative ledge of louvered squares, both of which can be customized in multiple stones. The flutes could be one color, the ledge another, or the whole piece could have a calico effect. It gives designers a bit more flexibility to play, to push outside the box, combining different stones when typically they can only choose one. We made the prototype from Carrara, a classic marble white, and Pepper, a charcoal black lava stone from Mexico with a very soft, subtle matte appearance that has an almost terrazzo feel to it.”
MEET THE MAKER
Join Siobhán McGowan of Business of Home in conversation with designer Chad Dorsey about the inspiration and craft behind Strike, his new stone fireplace collection for Ann Sacks. RSVP
Tuesday, May 14
4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Ann Sacks Long Island City
21-01 51st Avenue
Queens, NY 11101
This story is a paid promotion and was created in partnership with Ann Sacks.
Homepage image: Strike x Ann Sacks Gemma fireplace in a custom stone combination | Courtesy of Ann Sacks
